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Oct

18
2007

BofA's "No Fee" loan a hit with consumers

By Matt Carter, Thursday, October 18, 2007.
Is Bank of America's No Fee Mortgage PLUS loan all it's cracked up to be? Since it was rolled out nationwide in May, there's been some debate over whether the loan -- which promises to eliminate junk fees while taking...  more...

It's Manhattan, minus the cab fare

By Glenn Roberts, Jr., Thursday, October 18, 2007.
UpNext.com offers a simulated three-dimensional interactive version of Manhattan, complete with skyscrapers, reviews and business contact information. You can use your mouse to zoom in and out, spin around and click on buildings to view a list of businesses there....  more...

Home Prices in Jeopardy

By Glenn Roberts, Jr., Thursday, October 18, 2007.
Yes, home-price trivia has found its way to the brainy game show Jeopardy. The category was "The Hills," and the clue is pictured here. Don't forget to phrase your answer in the form of a question. You can view a...  more...

Mortgage troubles showing up in earnings reports Premium Content

By Inman News, Thursday, October 18, 2007.

Turmoil in mortgage and capital markets is showing up this week not only in the third quarter earnings of lenders including Bank of America Corp., Washington Mutual Inc., Citigroup Inc., and Thornburg Mortgage,  but mortgage insurers like PMI Group Inc. and online stock broker E-Trade Financial Corp.

Also this week, GMAC Financial Services announced it will cut 3,000 jobs, or 25 percent of the work force at its Residential Capital LLC lending unit, and Countrywide Financial Corp.  more...

California new-home sales tumble 45% in August Premium Content

By Inman News, Thursday, October 18, 2007.

California new-home sales dropped 44.7 percent in August compared to the same month last year and the median new-home price dropped 7.6 percent statewide, the California Building Industry Association reported this week.

In Southern California, sales of new and previously owned homes dropped 48.5 percent and the median price dropped 4 percent in September compared to September 2006, according to a separate report by real estate research company DataQuick Information Systems.

And sales of new and re  more...

Self-storage buildings sell for $28 million

By Inman News, Thursday, October 18, 2007.

Two self-storage facilities in Rancho Cucamonga, Calif., have changed hands in a deal valued at more than $28.7 million.

The class A buildings combine for a total of 271,082 square feet.

The first property, located at 10005 Arrow Route St., sold for more than $11.7 million and includes 110,972 square feet of rentable space. The second facility, located at 6599 Haven Ave., offers 160,110 square feet of storage space and sold for $18 million.  more...

Vacant commercial space sells in San Clemente, Calif.

By Inman News, Thursday, October 18, 2007.

Marcus & Millichap on Wednesday announced the sale of the Miramar Theatre in San Clemente, Calif.

A local investor paid $5.3 million for the property, which is situated in the New North Beach Re-Development zone. The property has been vacant for a decade and sold for land value of $200 per foot.

Agents in Marcus & Millichap's Newport Beach office represented the seller in the transaction.

Encino, Calif.-based Marcus & Millichap is a commercial real estate brokerage that focuses on investments.

STAG Capital picks up flex space in Maryland

By Inman News, Thursday, October 18, 2007.

STAG Capital Partners has purchased flex/R&D space in Sparks, Md., adding to its real estate portfolio.

The 34,000-square-foot property is situated on 3.5 acres of land at 15 Loveton Circle and was fully occupied by EA Engineering Science & Technology at the time of purchase.

The value of the deal was not disclosed.

EA Engineering is a private environmental testing company.

STAG Capital Partners is a real estate firm that acquires and manages single-tenant, net-leased properties throughout the United States.

Dennis Malone of Colliers Pinkard r  more...

Coldwell Banker launches new valuation, online archiving tools

By Inman News, Thursday, October 18, 2007.

Home Tracker, a new online service by Coldwell Banker, allows homeowners who register at the company's Web site to calculate home value based on actual and planned improvements and to archive scanned home records and digital photos.

The password-protected Home Tracker site also allows users to set up alerts to notify them about changes in home values and recent home sales in the neighborhood.

These new tools are featured as a part of Coldwell Banker's Personal Retriever Toolkit, a suite of online tools that allow consumers to find and save homes of interest, view new listings  more...

Weekly long-term mortgage rates hold steady

By Inman News, Thursday, October 18, 2007.

Mortgage rates were in a holding pattern this week, barely moving from last week's averages, according to surveys from Freddie Mac and Bankrate, despite speeches from Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke and U.S.  more...

MLS defends rules targeted by DOJ Premium Content

By Glenn Roberts Jr., Thursday, October 18, 2007.

Membership restrictions for the Multiple Listing Service of Hilton Head Island Inc., the subject of a lawsuit accompanying a proposed settlement agreement with the U.S.  more...

Overnight real estate rates continue lower

By Inman News, Thursday, October 18, 2007.

Long-term mortgage interest rates were down again Wednesday, and the benchmark 10-year Treasury bond yield fell to 4.56 percent.

The 30-year fixed-rate average dipped to 6.07 percent, and the 15-year fixed rate sank to 5.7 percent. The 1-year adjustable fell to 5.75 percent.

The 30-year Treasury bond yield dropped to 4.83 percent.

Rates and bonds are current as of 7:15 p.m. Eastern Standard Time.

Mortgage rate figures are according to Bankrate.com, which publishes nightly averages based on its survey of 4,000 banks in 50 states.  more...

Online real estate advertiser grows global legs

By Jessica Swesey, Thursday, October 18, 2007.

The REA Group, an online real estate advertising company based in Australia, is proving that while real estate is local, significant global growth is possible for an online advertising business.

The company, known for operating the property listings site realestate.com.au in Australia, in the past few years has grown its legs in several additional countries and territories across the globe, including United Kingdom, Hong Kong, New Zealand, France, Germany, Belgium, Italy and Luxembourg.

 more...

Landlords beware: Noisy neighbors mean lost rent

By Janet Portman, Thursday, October 18, 2007.

Q: I inherited my mother's house and rented it to tenants who are complaining about noise from the neighbors. The neighboring property is a townhouse that's occupied by college students (who are also renters), and they do indeed make a racket, with loud parties many nights. I've talked to them and tried to get them to quiet down, to no avail. My renters are telling me that they can break their lease (and not be responsible for rent for the rest of the lease term) because of this situation.  more...

Repair and deduct: What are the rules?

By Helene Lesel, Thursday, October 18, 2007.

Q: My landlord ignores my repeated requests for repairs. Can I get things fixed and take it out of the rent?  more...